Appellate court rejects Indira's RM100m claim but flags 'material delays' by police
Farah Solhi
Published: Aug 24, 2026 2:28 PM
Updated: 5:50 PM
The Court of Appeal has unanimously dismissed M Indira Gandhi’s RM100 million nonfeasance lawsuit against the government and former top police officials over their failure to apprehend her ex-husband and recover her abducted daughter.
The ruling denies Indira (above) financial compensation for her prolonged separation from her youngest child, and affirmed that private damages cannot be awarded for administrative police failures without proving direct legal causation.
Delivering the judgment, judge Faizah Jamaludin stated that while Indira’s suffering was undisputed, she failed to prove on the balance of probabilities that police omissions directly caused her ex-husband, Riduan Abdullah (previously known as K Pathmanathan), to evade arrest.
“A more prompt nationwide directive, an earlier media appeal, or an earlier Interpol step might have improved the prospects of success.
“The evidence did not show that any such step would probably have ended the separation or shortened it by an identifiable period.
“We do not doubt the reality of a parent’s pain, her anxiety, and continuing sense of injustice (as) the requirement of causation does not diminish that suffering.
“(But causation) identifies the loss for which the law may require a defendant to answer as the consequence of an actionable wrong. That connection was not proved on the balance of probabilities,” she said.
Published: Aug 24, 2026 2:28 PM
Updated: 5:50 PM
The Court of Appeal has unanimously dismissed M Indira Gandhi’s RM100 million nonfeasance lawsuit against the government and former top police officials over their failure to apprehend her ex-husband and recover her abducted daughter.
The ruling denies Indira (above) financial compensation for her prolonged separation from her youngest child, and affirmed that private damages cannot be awarded for administrative police failures without proving direct legal causation.
Delivering the judgment, judge Faizah Jamaludin stated that while Indira’s suffering was undisputed, she failed to prove on the balance of probabilities that police omissions directly caused her ex-husband, Riduan Abdullah (previously known as K Pathmanathan), to evade arrest.
“A more prompt nationwide directive, an earlier media appeal, or an earlier Interpol step might have improved the prospects of success.
“The evidence did not show that any such step would probably have ended the separation or shortened it by an identifiable period.
“We do not doubt the reality of a parent’s pain, her anxiety, and continuing sense of injustice (as) the requirement of causation does not diminish that suffering.
“(But causation) identifies the loss for which the law may require a defendant to answer as the consequence of an actionable wrong. That connection was not proved on the balance of probabilities,” she said.
However, the Court of Appeal departed from the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s earlier finding that the police had fully performed their duties.
READ MORE: Indira's legal battle for 16 years: A mum looks for her child
Faizah, who sat on the bench alongside judges Zaini Mazlan and Radzi Abdul Hamid, pointed to material delays, lack of contemporaneous records, and weak evidence by the police.
“Nothing in these grounds should be understood as conferring a general immunity upon the police or as suggesting that a failure to obey and execute lawful orders and warrants of the courts is legally inconsequential,” she said, noting that police retain a continuing statutory duty to execute the outstanding arrest warrant against Riduan.
“Our conclusion is confined to the private law claim as pleaded and to the evidence adduced in this appeal,” she said, in dismissing the appeal without costs.
Suit filed in 2020
Indira filed the suit in 2020 against former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Abdul Hamid Bador, the Home Ministry, police, and the government, claiming that the defendants failed to take necessary steps to apprehend Riduan for abducting their daughter Prasana Diksa, despite several court orders since 2014.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed her lawsuit in 2024 after finding that the police had taken necessary steps to execute the court orders, leading to today’s appeal.
Indira was present in court today alongside Indira Gandhi Action Team chairperson Arun Dorasamy.
Speaking to reporters after the proceedings, Arun said they will review the latest judgment before deciding their next course of action, including whether to plead their case to the Federal Court.
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